I'm not ready for summer to be over yet, so I'm glad the heat lingers here in Phoenix. (Perfectly suited to this climate, aren't I?) I've been out in the pool all summer with a succession of tall, cold drinks and books so good that they make me lose track of time. If Denis and I ever win the lottery and get this pool heated, my toes would undoubtedly be permanently webbed!
As usual I've been keeping track of crime fiction that will be released throughout the month of September. I'm sharing my list of my top dozen picks along with all the information you'll need to find them at your favorite book procurement locations. Book synopses are courtesy of Amazon. Happy Reading!
=== September 1 ===
Title: The Edison Effect
#4 in the Professor Benjamin Bradshaw historical mystery series set in early 1900s Seattle, Washington
ISBN: 9781464202520
Publisher: Poisoned Pen Press
Paperback, 250 pages
*Upcoming review on Kittling: Books
Synopsis: "Inventor Thomas Alva Edison is also a ruthless businessman, intent on
furthering his patents and General Electric and beating rivals like
Nikola Tesla and Westinghouse. Edison has agents in place in Seattle but
he’s come himself in pursuit of a mysterious invention lost in 1901 in
Elliott Bay. When Edison asks for information, few refuse. But not
University of Washington Professor Benjamin Bradshaw who’s earned a
reputation as a private investigator where science—electricity—is
concerned. Bradshaw hopes that the lost device, one conceived in anger
by an anarchist and harnessed for murder, will elude Edison’s hired
divers. _x000D_ Soon, one December morning, 1903, the Bon Marché’s
Department Store electrician is found dead in the Men’s Wear Window
clutching a festoon of Edison’s new holiday lights. Bradshaw believes
Edison had set a dangerous game in motion. Motives multiply as the dead
man’s secrets surface alongside rivalries at the Bon Marché. Bradshaw,
his sleuthing partner Henry Pratt, and the Seattle PD’s Detective
O’Brien pursue leads, but none spark Bradshaw’s intuition. His heart is
not in the investigation but in a courtship that will force him to defy
his Catholic faith or lose his beloved, Missouri. Then a crossroads in
the case forces him to face his personal fears and his first
professional failure. Whatever the outcomes, his life is about to
change…."
=== September 2 ===
Title: Marked Down for Murder
#4 in the Good Buy Girls cozy series set in Virginia
ISBN: 9780425271360
Publisher: Berkley Prime Crime
Mass Market Paperback, 272 pages
*Upcoming review on Kittling: Books
Synopsis: "Between spending Valentine’s Day with her sweetheart, Sam, and shopping
upcoming Presidents’ Day sales with the Good Buy Girls, everything is
coming up roses and bargains for Maggie Gerber. But when the mother of
Maggie’s nemesis comes to town, things stop looking so rosy. Summer’s
mom is hoping to set her spoiled daughter up with Sam, and she’ll do
whatever it takes to make the match happen.
When Maggie
heads to her romantic rival’s house to put a stop to the scheming, she
discovers Summer standing over a dead body—holding a weapon. As much as
Maggie would love to see Summer get her just desserts, she can’t shake
the feeling that the meddling menace is, in fact, innocent. Now Maggie
and the Good Buy Girls will have to sort through racks of suspects to
find a killer—or Summer will wind up getting a truly raw deal…"
Title: Night of the White Buffalo
Author: Margaret Coel
#18 in the Wind River series set in Wyoming
ISBN: 9780425264652
Publisher: Berkley Hardcover
Hardcover, 304 pages
Synopsis: "A mysterious penitent confesses to murder, and then flees the
confessional before Father John can identify him. Two months later,
Vicky discovers rancher Dennis Carey shot dead in his truck along Blue
Sky Highway. With the tragic news comes the exposure of an astonishing
secret: the most sacred creature in Native American mythology, a white
buffalo calf, was recently born on Carey’s ranch.
Making
national headlines, the miraculous animal draws a flood of pilgrims to
the reservation, frustrating an already difficult investigation. As
visitors throw the reservation into turmoil, Vicky and Father John try
to unravel the strange events surrounding both Carey’s murder and the
recent disappearances of three cowboys from his ranch.
It
could be coincidence, given the nomadic life of the cowboy trade, but
when one of them fails to appear in court to testify on an assault
charge, Vicky wonders if Arnie Walkfast and his Arapaho buddies are
guilty of more than just assault. And at the back of Father John’s mind
is the voice from the man in the confessional: I killed a man…"
Title: The Wolfe Widow
Author: Victoria Abbott
#3 in the Book Collector cozy series set in New York state
ISBN: 9780425255308
Publisher: Berkley Prime Crime
Mass Market Paperback, 304 pages
Synopsis: "As Thanksgiving approaches, Jordan Bingham is grateful for her job
researching rare books for Vera Van Alst, the infamous curmudgeon of
Harrison Falls, New York. But when an uninvited guest makes an
appearance, much more than dinner is disrupted—and Jordan is thankful
just to be alive…
Vera Van Alst doesn’t normally
receive visitors without appointment, but she agrees to see the
imperious Muriel Delgado upon arrival. Shortly thereafter, Jordan is
told that her position is being terminated. Evicted from the Van Alst
House, Jordan is determined to find out what hold Muriel has over her
erstwhile employer.
It seems Muriel has designs on Vera’s
money and property—not to mention a particular interest in her
collection of Nero Wolfe first editions. When Jordan discovers a deadly
connection between Muriel and the Van Alst family, it’s up to her to put
the house in order and stop a killer from going back to press."
Title: The Low Road
Author: A.D. Scott
#5 in the Highland Gazette historical series set in 1950s Scotland
ISBN: 9781476756165
Publisher: Atria Books
Paperback, 336 pages
*Upcoming review on Kittling: Books
Synopsis: "The fifth gripping and beautifully written entry in A. D. Scott’s
mystery series finds star journalist John McAllister caught up in the
razor-gang warfare of 1950s Glasgow.
A. D. Scott’s extraordinary mystery novels have been called “beautifully written and atmospheric” (New York Times bestselling author Rhys Bowen), “a visit with an old friend in front of a fireplace” (Suspense Magazine), and “must-reads” (Booklist).
John
McAllister has come to a crossroads, torn between the stability of his
life in the Highlands and the thrill of working as a renowned journalist
in Glasgow at a national daily newspaper. Can he accept that this
exciting new phase is over? That it is time to settle down?
Before
he knows it, McAllister is in the midst of a fast-paced hunt for his
good friend Jimmy McPhee, who is involved in a blood feud with a
murderous razor gang. With a fiercely ambitious young crime reporter, he
tracks down Jimmy, but the gang finds them. Only when another violent
clash breaks out do they have the chance to escape. Soon McAllister
finds himself in danger of losing everything he holds dear—his mother,
his fiancée, his friends, his integrity, and his life.
And
Joanne Ross, recovering from horrific injuries, senses McAllister’s
ambivalence about their forthcoming marriage, and she knows she can only
wait for him to return to her.
From the wilderness of the
Highlands to the desolation of Glasgow’s slums, book five in Scott’s
mystery series is a portrait of extremes: between city and glen; between
the rule of law and the laws of the streets; between safe, enduring
love and unreasoning passion."
=== September 4 ===
Title: Sinking Suspicions
#3 in the Sadie Walela series set in Oklahoma
ISBN: 9780816531073
Publisher: University of Arizona Press
Paperback, 224 pages
Synopsis: "Suspicions run high when murder mixes with identity theft in the latest
installment of the popular Sadie Walela mystery series set in Cherokee
Country. No sooner does Sadie embark on an unexpected business trip to
the beautiful island of Maui, when her long-time neighbor, Buck Skinner,
a full-blood Cherokee and World War II veteran, goes missing and
becomes the prime suspect in the murder of a petty identity thief.
Iconic lawman Lance Smith joins a community-wide search, but Buck is
nowhere to be found. As evidence mounts against her old friend, Sadie
rushes to return home to help—only to be delayed by an island-wide
earthquake and her own sinking suspicions.
A diverse cast of
characters weave together a breathless story of murder, thievery, and
the toll of war on the human spirit. In her effort to restore balance to
her neighbor’s life, Sadie not only uncovers the truth, but unravels
much more than a murder."
=== September 15 ===
Title: Darkness, Darkness
#13 in the Charlie Resnick police procedural series set in England
ISBN: 9781605986166
Publisher: Pegasus
Hardcover, 352 pages
Synopsis: "Thirty years ago, the British Miners’ Strike threatened to tear england
apart, turning neighbor against neighbor, husband against wife, father
against son—enmities which still smolder.
Charlie Resnick,
recently promoted to Detective Inspector and ambivalent, at best, about
some of the police tactics used in the Strike, had run an
surveillance-gathering unit at the heart of the dispute.
Now, in
virtual retirement, the discovery of the body of a young woman who
disappeared during the Strike brings Resnick back to the front line to
assist in the investigation into the woman’s murder—forcing him to
confront his past—in what will assuredly be his last case . . . as well
as John’s Harvey’s final Charlie Resnick novel."
Title: The Coniston Case
#3 in the "Simmy" Brown series set in the Lake District of England
ISBN: 9780749016159
Publisher: Allison and Busby
Hardcover, 352 pages
Synopsis: "Simmy is busy at her flower shop in the run up to Valentine’s Day. She
has a number of anonymous messages and flowers to deliver around the
Lake District, but finds these messages are not welcome upon delivery.
One
recipient, Mr. Hayter, has been reported missing and the other, Tim
Braithwaite, is reported dead. Meanwhile, Simmy’s friend Kathy has come
to stay. She has been worried about her daughter, Joanne, who has fallen
in love with her university tutor. Kathy confronts Baz and finds he
hides a sinister side, which leads to trouble."
=== September 16 ===
Title: The Stone Wife
#14 in the Peter Diamond police procedural series set in Bath, England
ISBN: 9781616953935
Publisher: Soho Press
Hardcover, 368 pages
*Upcoming review on Kittling: Books
Synopsis: "At a Bath auction house, a large slab of carved stone is up for sale. At
the height of what turns into very competitive bidding, there is a
hold-up attempt by three masked robbers. They shoot and kill the highest
bidder, a professor who has recognized the female figure carved in the
stone as Chaucer’s Wife of Bath. The masked would-be thieves flee,
leaving the stone behind.
Peter Diamond and his team are
assigned to investigate, and the stone is moved into Diamond’s office so
he can research its origins. The carving causes such difficulties that
he starts to think it has jinxed him. Meanwhile, as Diamond’s leads take
him to Chaucer’s house in Somerset, his intrepid colleague Ingeborg
goes undercover to try to track down the source of the handgun used in
the murder."
=== September 23 ===
Title: Silent Murders
#2 in the Roaring Twenties historical mystery series
ISBN: 9781250051370
Publisher: Minotaur Books
Hardcover, 320 pages
Synopsis: "Vaudeville actress Leah Randall took on her most daring role ever when
she impersonated missing heiress Jessie Carr in order to claim Jessie’s
inheritance in The Impersonator. Now that the dust has settled
around that tumultuous time in her life, Leah has adopted Jessie’s name
as her own and moved to Hollywood, where she's taken a modest but steady
job in the silent film industry.
Jessie’s thrilled when Bruno
Heilmann, a movie studio bigwig, invites her to a party. She’s even more
delighted to run into a face from her past at that party. But the
following day, Jessie learns that sometime in the wee hours of the
morning both her old friend and Bruno Heilmann were brutally murdered.
She’s devastated, but with her skill as an actress, access to the
wardrobes and resources of a film studio, and a face not yet famous
enough to be recognized, Jessie is uniquely positioned to dig into the
circumstances surrounding these deaths. But will doing so put her own
life directly in the path of a murderer?"
Title: To Dwell in Darkness
#16 in the Duncan Kincaid/Gemma James police procedural series set in England
ISBN: 9780062271600
Publisher: William Morrow
Hardcover, 336 pages
Synopsis: "Recently transferred to the London borough of Camden from Scotland
Yard headquarters, Superintendent Duncan Kincaid and his new murder
investigation team are called to a deadly bombing at historic St.
Pancras Station. By fortunate coincidence, Melody Talbot, Gemma's
trusted colleague, witnesses the explosion. The victim was taking part
in an organized protest, yet the other group members swear the young man
only meant to set off a smoke bomb. As Kincaid begins to gather the
facts, he finds every piece of the puzzle yields an unexpected pattern,
including the disappearance of a mysterious bystander.
The bombing
isn't the only mystery troubling Kincaid. He's still questioning the
reasons behind his transfer, and when his former boss—who's been
avoiding him—is attacked, those suspicions deepen. With the help of his
former sergeant, Doug Cullen, Melody Talbot, and Gemma, Kincaid begins
to untangle the truth. But what he discovers will leave him questioning
his belief in the job that has shaped his life and his values—and remind
him just how vulnerable his precious family is."
=== September 24 ===
Title: Bright Hopes
#5 in the St. Rose Quilting Bee cozy series set in Arizona
ISBN: 9781432829506
Publisher: Five Star
Hardcover, 310 pages
Synopsis: "Loud explosions are ruining sleep for hundreds of Scottsdale residents
in the hot July nights, including members of the St. Rose Quilting Bee.
Things become serious when Maggie's police officer son is injured by one
of the blasts. Then a church member dies when an explosion topples a
roof onto the lounge chair where he lies sleeping. The women think bored
teenagers may be playing with fireworks, but Edie is thinking
terrorists. The others scoff, until a bomb at a power substation throws
the entire neighborhood into darkness. Suddenly terrorism is a real
possibility."
For me, this is a really good mix of favorite authors and intriguing new ones. I can't wait to dig in-- and I hope I've managed to list a title or two that made it to your own Gotta Get lists!
